Tehanu's Notes: My Vote's with Guillermo Del Toro

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calisuri

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Tehanu’s Notes
I hope I wasn't the only person jumping with joy at the news that Guillermo del Toro is 99% confirmed to direct 'The Hobbit'.

I'm hoping this will be the start of the a similar 'dream run' to what we saw with LOTR, when so many decisions, one after another, just felt so right. After seeing his work on Pan's Labyrinth last year, I'm incredibly excited to think of him directing one or both Hobbit movies.

Pan's Labyrinth is one of those movies that realises the unique potential of film. Any director that could make something so powerful and exhileratingly magical as Pans' Labyrinth would do amazing things with The Hobbit. I walked out of that film haunted and moved by images that stayed with me for days. No one thing by itself made the movie great: it was a combination where the sum of the whole was greater than the parts. The result was something that I don't think I could experience in any other way. No music, no book, no theatre, nothing could quite have given me the same experience. I had to go back and see it again to try and absorb all it was trying to say. [Read the Full Article]
 
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I've long been a PJ supporter. I spent the past few years praying and hoping he would make The Hobbit. When the whole Raimi rumour was being floated, I was a little miserable. It didn't "feel right". But when the rumours about Guillermo del Toro sprung up, I didn't feel quite so dismayed. I haven't seen any of his movies, but I remember wanting to watch Pan's Labyrinth, and when it didn't show up at my local theatre, I had a few bouts of lurking over at the official movie site, listening to the music, looking at the visuals, and pondering. As you said, this announcement "felt right". And most of all, he has PJ's stamp of approval. I'm sure PJ has insight into GDT as a person, as a film-maker, and as a believer in fantasy. Yeah, I'm a PJ supporter. And that's why I support GDT. My vote's with him too.

Oh, and for the record, I'm watching Pan's Labyrinth this weekend. [;)]
 
Sorry to rain on your parade, but Del Toro is NOT the man to direct the Hobbit. If he does it, he will need to be managed completely by PJ, Phillipa Boyens and/or people who know what they are doing when it comes to Tolkien.

This is a guy who told EW of the Hobbit: "It’s the only Tolkien book I read. I tried my best to read the Lord of the Rings, the trilogy. I could not. I could not. They were very dense".

Could not finish the LOTR? And he is to direct a bridge between The Hobbit and LOTR? He can't even begin to understand the multi-layered complexity of Tolkien's world if he gets no further than the Hobbit- which is basically written as a kid's book. What are we going to have here? A dark two dimsensional and linear story with none of the rich backdrop of the LOTR films? Personally I think he will produce an entirely different film to the one which Ringers want to see.

Pan's Labyrinth is a good film. However it is cold and brutal. It has nothing in common with Tolkien's tone. Its portrayal of fascism and its opponents is simplistic and showed no understanding of the historical background (ie fascism v. communism). The film is simply not as clever as his supporters make out.

New Line/PJ should have gone for someone who was actually involved in the original films (and who was not a household name). That was the true route to continuity.

And where is PJ anyway? No comments other than a bland bit of PR-babble in the original press release. How much is he really involved? I think he needs to tell us NOW!
 
I read your notes on TORn this morning and was elated to find such an eloquent statement on behalf of Mr. Del Toro and his work. I too was taken by "Pan's Labyrinth". It moved me in a way few movies have. It's counterpart "Devils Backbone" is also a film of great strength.
When it was first announced that PJ would not be directing the Hobbit, Guillermo del Toro
came immediately to my mind. I have been advocating this choice to all of the Tolkien enthusiasts here in Minnesota ever since. A collaboration between Peter & Company and GdT could be
phenomenal.
 
I wonder something about this and how much influence PJ had with the decision. PJ was going to work with Del Toro on Halo until that project got "delayed." Evidently PJ seems to think that he can work with Del Toro or he wouldn't have invited him to help on Halo. I would dare say that PJ had to approve the choice of the director, even it that has not come out.

Having said that, and realizing that I am still optimistic about Del Toro, I still wonder if anyone can live up to the hype of the three LOTR films? Will expectations by critics, fans and movie goers be way to high?

Pans Labyrinth is an excellent film, and its cross over between real situations of life and fantasy are well done and are outstanding in my opinion. I can imagine the end of The Hobbit with Thorin saying his farewell after seeing Ofelia's death scene.

It is a time of optimism I believe, though I am guarded in it. 2010 will be the make it or break it for me when I sit down in the theater and watch the movie. I guess in the end, that is what will determine if Del Toro was the right choice, when each of us watch the movie.

I think a sports team is a good analogy. I am optimistic that our team is picking the right leaders/coaches/executive producers/director/writers, will pick the right players/actors and all the right supporting cast and will deliver a product that is a true winner in every sense of the word. If they don't the fans will be disappointed.
 
With Del Toro directing, PJ and Fran producing, and PJ, Fran and Phillipa writing the script (i'm assuming, anyhow), I think this is all going to work out very well. Add in Weta and Howard Shore, and i'm even more confident in 'The Hobbit'. Here's hoping that TORn gets some of those wonderful production diaries!
 
and had me grinning from ear-to-ear as I read. Not just because of what she was saying... which always carries me away... but because our super-spy is at it again and filled with enthusiam! She really knows how to light a fire!

Thanks Tehanu. It's great to see you!



ps. I hope you don't have any plans to be out of NZ in 2009-2010 ;)
 
...you put it into words far more effectively than I ever could.

The Hobbit has always felt more like a classic fairy tale to me (with its challenges, tests, and lessons learned by the protagonist) than LOTR has...a movie adaptation requires a director of some sensitivity and intelligence to find that balance between "multi-layered fable" and "crowd-pleasing adventure."

Besides, if Peter Jackson is working with a director that he can be enthusiastic about, the entire production benefits.
 
I have literally gone from excited jubilation with the news a couple weeks ago that Peter Jackson was now going to produce and direct (I had hoped) The Hobbit movie(s), to something resembling total despair with the news of Guillermo Del Torro apparently going to direct this film.

What has he done besides a few horror films? Blade 2? Hellboy? Please. Oh, ok, he directed Pans Labyrinth. However, this was no family childrens film, that's for sure. In Pans Labyrinth, Del Torro approaches the fantasy genre with an apparent disdain for anything good or wholesome for children. Here's a direct quote from Del Torro,

"I have enjoyed reading the original versions of Grimm's Fairy Tales and have always found that the form itself lends easily to deeply disturbing images. Hans Christian Andersen and Oscar Wilde, in fact, have some tales of thinly veiled S&M, full of horrific and brutal moments."

This quote coming from the disturbed mind of the man who is about to direct one of the most beloved and pure childrens's fantasies ever written? Does Peter Jackson realize who he's hiring?

Pans Labyrinth, although I concede expertly directed, is a brutal, horriffic dark tale that is certainly NOT a childrens film, if even appropriate for adults. I shudder to think what sort of brutality and darkness he will impart on the beloved, lighthearted Hobbit.

Please, please Peter Jackson, choose someone else or wait until you have time to direct it yourself. We've waited this long, we can wait a couple more years.

Belsuki
 
I think that Pan's Labyrinth stands as an example of what he's capable of as a director (and writer), and his commitment to treating film fantasy seriously (not a contradiction in terms). One shouldn't assume that he'd automatically apply the same tone to The Hobbit...the story and script are worlds apart, and the film would reflect that.

It might be heresy, but I'd rather have a skilled/talented director who hadn't read LOTR than a hack who knew it like the back of his hand.
 
Have you seen any of Peter Jacksons earlier films?
They contain some of the most over the top gross and disgusting images on film.
 
...but have you seen Brain Dead, Meet the Feebles, or Dead Alive? All fun films, all rather sick and twisted, and all directed by Peter Jackson.
 
currently, is the balance .... and that maybe that so far most of the news has a testosterone count of about 99% ... and I'd really like to see a female presence somewhere in these films ... as it is, the cast is very male dominated, and so far Fran Walsh has been the only woman named amongst this ...
I'd like to see a woman involved and Direct some of this ... Id like to see Fran Walsh involved ...

We May have Philippa Boyens & Fran Walsh scripting, but nothing has been mentioned as definate - yet reports coming mention Del Toro and Jackson working on the script togther ... so I can see where there is an imbalance and a huge gap here ... and after going through the commenatries and listening to what was brought to the LOTR by the inclusion of a balanced perspective - I can see where this combination works well.

Both Peter and Del Toro are both connected to an aspect of darkness and 'horror' films in their careers - OK, even Fran has had her share of being covered in blood ... but there also seems to be a leaning towards 'frightener/gore/Horror' presently ... New Line are about to unleash Freddy again ... so I would hope that this current popular 'element' can be over-ridden for the Hobbit ... if we wait to see who else is coming on board here, it might balance it out ... and there is also the 'ratings' issue - it will be kept low so that it can potentially draw a larger audience ... the LOTR has no spurting blood and real massacre gore ... thats what makes it quite unique in a way.

The gender balance may have nothing to do with it at all, but its a perspective worth considering presently as to why maybe there is so many people 'horrified' (pardon the pun) about the darkness that Del Toro will bring into the Movies ...

Peter wont see it happen - I feel pretty much assured (even if he secretly goes off on his gorey tangent, Im sure he'll come back again and do whats best for the Hobbit on film) ...

Just some thoughts

Cheers Elven x
 
Well said Belsuki. It's not just that he has a side to him darker than the Ephel Duath, but he has weird leftist views too. We will probably have Thorin giving the orcs the Arkenstone as penalty for the dwarves' imperialist pretensions, Smaug being portrayed as the oppressed anti-hero and Spike Lee made the main assistant director. What next? A scene with round table peace talks between the White Council and the Necromancer at Dol Gulder to discuss respective claims to Middle Earth???!! OK, I exaggerate ..... but yunno ......
 
I don't mind if the movie has a dark vein like the LOTR trilogy, but it better tread carefully. The book is a lot more embracing for younger readers, and I think that element needs to be remembered in the execution of the film. BTW, they had better make Thorin and the Dwarves kick some serious ass. I love the dwarves. They are little Vikings and the underdogs amongst nearly all RPG fandoms. It's like Elves = ninja cool, and Dwarves = garden gnome. Not fair I tell you. By the way, my height has nothing to do with my preference for Dwarves. I'm 6'2". [laugh]
 
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I wonder something about this and how much influence PJ had with the decision. PJ was going to work with Del Toro on Halo until that project got "delayed." Evidently PJ seems to think that he can work with Del Toro or he wouldn't have invited him to help on Halo.
Click to expand...

The key similarity I see between Del Toro and Jackson is that both are visual geniuses, in that they are brave in taking a story to a higher level by pushing the creativity in a way that enhances the storytelling.

Even when PJ was working with exploding puppets and suburban zombies, he was telling his stories with an elan that grabbed the public's imagination - just as Del Toro did with his war-cum-high-fantasy film. It's that talent that Del Toro will bring to The Hobbit, and which makes me intrigued about the type of movie he (in conjunction with PJ) will deliver.
 
There's plenty of other people defending Del Toro with the reminder that before PJ did LOTR, he had a track record of horror and gore movies that had people doubting he could ever do LOTR right. But he did.

I wasn't aware that Del Toro's politics were controversial, which I see from a number of posts apparently they are. I am the ignoramus here, in that I have only seen Pan's Labyrinth and not his other films so far - but I will report back to you all when I've remedied that.

My mother grew up through the Spanish Civil War, and so I grew up hearing her perspective as an apolitical, peasant survivor. If she ever had any political views, I never heard them. The police, the military, the Guardia Civil, anyone in any uniform, were equally to be feared as ordinary people scrabbled for food through the awful famines of the war. The sense of fear, of never knowing who might betray you for whatever advantage they might gain, is a lasting impression I got from her stories, and Del Toro gets that bang on in "Pan's Labyrinth".
 
I imagine that's keeping him pretty busy. Plus pre-production on Tintin. He's not a one-franchise man, and I for one can't wait to see the stuff he's doing now.
 
that Peter was going to take a month off after the Christmas holidays, then begin post-production on The Lovely Bones. The original Hobbit announcement came the week before Christmas, so I'm not at all surprised we haven't heard much. I think Peter's going to communicate directly with the fan community through TORN, and he will when he has something to tell us.
 
My family came to this country because of the Civil War in Spain...I too heard stories of fearing anyone who was even remotely associated with the Goverment or Franco. I think that GDT was not trying to tell a story about the "troubles" as my grandparents called it, he was telling a story (two actually Pan's and The Devil's Backbone) that just happened to take place during the time of the Spanish Civil war. That being said I am very very excited that he is going to direct. What people have to remember is that PJ is still going to be involved and it's not going to be all about Guillermo's vision. Another thing, I'm a bit tired of people continually refering to the "child like " aspects of the Hobbit and how GDT is going to turn this into some sort of gore fest or horror movie. Yes, there are light hearted aspects of the Hobbit, but there were also the same aspects associated with the Trilogy. Tolkien himself stated that the world of "Faery" is a perilous place, full of danger. Think of Mirkwood, of the spiders, goblins...a man who changes into a huge , fierce bear ( essentially a were-bear) a dragon and last of all a battle involving wolves, goblins and huge bats , this doesn't sound like Disney to me.GDT understands the light and shade associated with Middle Earth, I think he is a wonderful choice.
 
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